The present invention relates in general to portable emergency care devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a foldable, man-portable, trauma treatment and patient monitoring patient platform for use by an initial response medical care provider.
Sudden injury or disease may happen at a moment's notice. At the onset of such injury or disease, a patient often calls for the aid of an emergency response team. Upon arrival, members of the emergency response team assess the situation and diagnose the patient's condition. Oftentimes, patients cannot be sufficiently treated in the field, and require transport to a hospital or similar patient care center where more sophisticated equipment is readily available. It is during this transportation period where a patient's condition may worsen because of the lack of medical equipment available to the emergency response team. In the case of serious injury or disease, it is common that the patient must be treated within an hour of the initial onset of the disease or injury. Treatment within the first hour, the so-called golden hour, increases the likelihood of survival and successful recovery. Many times, this time constraint cannot be met due to various reasons. For example, the patient may be in a remote location, more than an hour away from the closest patient care facility.
Although this problem occurs frequently in civilian situations, it may be magnified in battlefield conditions, where significant injuries and disease commonly occur. The degree of injury and disease encountered on the battlefield shortens the treatment window. In addition, soldiers are often in remote, war-torn areas, or areas which are not easily accessible by vehicle, making it very difficult to respond to those requiring medical attention.
Although many patients require resources located at medical care centers, it is well-known for initial responders to bring emergency medical devices to the patient's location. Instruments such as stretchers and defibrillators are commonly brought into the field by medical response teams. Although these instruments are helpful in treating and transporting the patient, carrying such instrumentation to the patient's location may be difficult. Multiple members of the emergency response team may be required to carry each instrument. In addition, multiple members may be required to operate or carry the instrumentation during transport. For instance, the defibrillator may require additional personnel to hand-carry the device during transport because there may be no space to stow it.
Advances in technology have provided devices which enable medical instrumentality to be carried along with the stretcher. Consequently, a patient may be placed on a stretcher and medical care and monitoring instrumentation may be connected to the patient and placed within or on the stretcher, thereby eliminating the need to disconnect the equipment, or require additional personnel for hand-carrying during transport.
Although recent advances in technology have greatly enhanced emergency care and response, current systems are typically large and may require at least two medical care providers to transport the device to the patient's location. This requirement may severely limit the range of medical care that may be provided to a patient. This is especially true in the case of natural disasters and battlefield environments where vehicle transport may not be possible. Although individual medical devices, such as a defibrillator may be carried to the patient, current systems which integrate numerous medical devices are too large to be carried by one individual.
In addition, certain medical providers may have stretchers, but may not have medical monitoring/treatment equipment. Conversely, other medical providers may have medical monitoring/treatment equipment, but may not have stretchers. Furthermore, stretchers and equipment may be stored separately in different locations, making it difficult to quickly and adequately respond in emergency situations.
As such, there is a need in the art for a foldable, man-portable trauma treatment and monitoring patient platform.